An ex-councilor who ran for a seat he vacated on the Solon City Council last year is throwing his hat in the ring again, alongside a first-time candidate.

In a May 30 special election, newcomer Lauren Whitehead and former councilor Dale Snipes will vie for a seat Mark Krall vacated when he resigned in March.

Krall resigned in a letter dated March 6, saying other commitments "have become too great for me to be able to fulfill the requirements of my position on city council."

The council appointed Snipes to the position on April 5, but a 65-signature petition from residents triggered a special election for the seat, city administrator Cami Rasmussen confirmed in an email.

The election will cost the city roughly $1,500. Snipes' seat was added to a roughly $1,300 election triggered by councilor Casey Grover's resignation in December of 2015, Rasmussen said.

while last year's election to fill Snipes' seat cost about $1,300, she said.

Whitehead, 36, a Solon resident of six years, said if voters elect her, she hopes to help drive long-term planning associated with Solon's population growth. From 2010 to 2015, Solon's population increased from 2,037 to 2,302 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's website.

“Things are changing fast," Whitehead said.

Snipes, 59, said he would focus on expanding the city's downtown area along Main Street. He pointed to a new residential and commercial development at 121 Main St. as an example of progress.

Both candidates said they want to update the city's older infrastructure.

This comes after Snipes, a truck driver for United Natural Foods, resigned last June in a letter, saying he faced an unavoidable scheduling conflict at work. Subsequent changes at his job later cleared up his schedule.

Snipes' vacancy was added to the general election ballot last November, but he said residents urged him to run for his own vacant seat. He missed the filing deadline but waged a write-in campaign.

However, Snipes lost to Shawn Mercer, whose name appeared on the ballot unchallenged.

Snipes said Wednesday that he regrets his resignation and wishes he had waited for his job conflict to sort itself out. However, he realized through the experience how much he missed his involvement with the city.

“I want to be part of it," he said.

Whitehead, an assessments specialist at The College Board, said she hopes to represent Solon's younger and newer residents, who she said have great ideas and need a voice.

“I was excited to step up to that," she said.

Whitehead said she lives in an 80-year-old house in an older neighborhood, west of Highway 1 and near Main Street. She said her neighbors want to see faster progress on infrastructure updates, and she wants to prioritize this work to help maintain the “quirkiness and beauty" of this part of town.

Whitehead lives with her husband, Brian, and their two daughters, who attend Lakeview Elementary.

Snipes is a Solon resident of 10 years whose wife, Heather Snipes, is a longtime resident. Although he wasn't born in Solon, he said he wishes it was his hometown.

"I've fallen in love with it about as much as I have my wife," he said.

Snipes said he wants to encourage residents to get engaged in city business by attending council meetings. He said misinformation recently circulated involving parking and property demolition near the 121 Main St. project, but he thinks more engagement with city government would help combat rumors.

He said now is "an exciting time" in Solon, as infrastructure planning takes place and the Solon Community School District prepares to open a new middle school.